Liner shipping under attack - yet again

JUST over a decade ago, the European Union (EU) unilaterally banned the operation of rate-setting, capacity-controlling liner shipping "conferences" on the trades calling at EU ports. It has, however, continued to grant exemptions that allow shipping lines to enter into vessel-sharing agreements through its block exemption regulation (BER). The EU's European Commission is currently considering whether to to extend the BER.

An influential think tank is urging the EU not to do so. The International Transport Forum (ITF) is an intergovernmental organisation with 59 member countries (but excludes Singapore). It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of transport ministers. The ITF describes itself as "politically autonomous and administratively integrated with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)". Its declared mission is "to foster a deeper understanding of the role of transport in economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion and to raise the public profile of transport policy".

The OECD/ITF has a consistent record of opposing any cooperation between shipping lines. It cheered on the opponents of the conference system, which had for something like 100 years ensured stable, regular shipping services worldwide. Now it opposes the system of global alliances which, ITF notes, have become a dominant feature of container shipping.